Summary
Harrison School is a K-8 school in Canon City, CO, serving 472 students as part of the Fremont Re-1 district, where about 71% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school ranks at the 29th percentile statewide, down from the 44th percentile the prior year, and its academic proficiency trails both district and state averages across core subjects: ELA proficiency is 30.2% versus 40.1% district and 44.7% state, while math proficiency is 18.8% versus 25.8% district and 37.3% state.
There are some bright spots. Harrison's 3rd graders actually outperform the district in both ELA and math, but performance drops off sharply by 4th and 5th grade, suggesting students lose momentum in upper elementary. The school's science scores are highly unstable, jumping from 18% to nearly 37% and back down to 19.6% over three years. Compared to nearby schools, Harrison lags behind Lincoln School of Science and Technology (46.8% ELA, 38.9% math) and Canon Exploratory School, and the contrast with Mount View Core Knowledge Charter School — located just 0.17 miles away with 57.2% ELA proficiency and a 6.3% chronic absenteeism rate — is particularly striking. However, even McKinley Elementary School, with a similarly high-poverty population, outperforms Harrison in math (25.4% versus 18.8%).
Chronic absenteeism is a major concern at Harrison: 29.7% of students were chronically absent in 2024-25, well above the district rate of 23.2% and nearly five times higher than Mount View's rate. The school's favorable 12.6:1 student-teacher ratio doesn't appear to offset these challenges, as several nearby schools with larger class sizes achieve stronger results. For parents, the picture is mixed: Harrison has some early-grade strengths and a dedicated staff, but rising absenteeism, volatile test scores, and declining upper-elementary performance are issues worth understanding. The school serves a high-need population, and its outcomes have been inconsistent from year to year, making attendance and instructional continuity key areas to watch.
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